# NASA Awards Viasat NEXUS Relay Contract

NASA selected Viasat for Phase 1 of NEXUS under a firm-fixed-price contract with a maximum potential value of **$460.9 million** to develop commercial Ka-band relay services for near-Earth missions. The award supports NASA’s transition from its aging Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) fleet to commercial communications services. The broader NASA Ka-band relay procurement totals **$1.07 billion across three industry teams**, including Viasat, SES, and Astranis; subsequent NEXUS phases over the next three years are expected to cover development, launch, and flight demonstration.

- NASA’s move to commercial relay services signals opportunities for contractors supporting satellite communications, spacecraft and ground-system integration, network operations, launch, and flight demonstrations.
- Companies pursuing related work should assess how their capabilities fit within the three awarded teams’ development and deployment efforts; the supplied signal does not identify specific subcontracting needs or solicitation deadlines.
- The firm-fixed-price structure and staged program approach are relevant to cost, performance, and partnership planning for suppliers seeking roles in commercial space communications.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Information Technology
**Topics:** Digital Infrastructure
**Published:** November 11, 2026

### Government Entities
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

### Vendors
- Viasat, Inc. (awardee)
- SES (awardee)
- Astranis (awardee)

### Sources
- [Up to $460.9M: Viasat says NASA selected it for NEXUS Phase 1, a Ka-band relay effort as TDRS nears retirement. @Viasat #NASA #Satellite https://t.co/cxlZxkv86i https://t.co/z7RDAFBdz4](https://x.com/SatNewsEvents/status/2120590387785998502) - twitter-agency